"I know there's a lot of race fans around here," Gordon said. "I've been hearing that they were going to have some empty seats. It's hard to say. It's really hard to say. ... This place should be packed."

Observers estimated the stands were no more than two-thirds filled for the NASCAR event, and total capacity is about 125,000. The listed attendance was 94,400.

There were hopes attendance would be boosted by great weather, but one week after a snowstorm, not even temperatures in the high 70s could fill the seats.

It was more proof of the economic downturn's impact on sports.

"We are far from immune from what's going on in our economy," said Carl Edwards, who finished third.

Disappointment for MartinMark Martin's first pole since 2001 only led to more racing disappointment.

The 50-year-old Martin entered the race only 34th in points after frustrations with blown engines the past two weeks.

He lost his chance for his first win since 2005 when he blew out his right rear tire on lap 214 and hit the Atlanta Motor Speedway wall, causing major damage to the back of his car.

Martin's crew stripped off the twisted sheet metal and Martin returned to the rear of the field to finish 31st. He led five laps.

No repeat for Kyle BuschKyle Busch, the defending champion in Atlanta who was coming off a win last week in Las Vegas, finished 18th while his older brother Kurt enjoyed the win.

"It just was a bad day. We have them," said crew chief Steve Addington.

"We didn't have a good car today from the start. ... It was just no grip out of the race track. We started making gains on it there at the end. We could make it last for about 30 laps and then that would go away."

Painful pass The first pass of the race field was completed away from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr. was back in his No. 1 Chevrolet, starting 23rd, after a bout with kidney stones.

Truex was taken by ambulance to Spalding Regional Medical Center in nearby Griffin on Saturday after experiencing brief bouts of intense pain during practice. After being examined and given fluids, he was released from the hospital and passed the stone at about 10 p.m.

Kyle's plansKyle Busch has looked into buying a NASCAR team in the truck or Nationwide series, but those plans are on hold for now.

The 23-year-old Busch already owns a Late Model team, and he's more concerned at the moment with getting that financial house in order.

"We've got to get a better business model," he said. "I spent way too much money last year on my Late Model team. I'm trying to get a better idea of what's going on there. As soon as I get a better plan going and I'm not blowing through my sponsorship money, I may take a look at something else."

Busch estimated that it would take about $8 million to buy the assets of a team, and another $3 million a year to run it.

"The first year, you'd be spending $11 million of your money," he said. "Without sponsorship money, it's just not possible. I've got to work on retirement first."

Besides, Busch may have something else on his agenda if a new American-based Formula One team gets off the ground. He has been mentioned as one of the possible drivers and is definitely interested.

Elliott's day ends in crashGeorgia native Bill Elliottfinished 36th. He was unable to avoid a collision with Sam Hornish Jr., who hit the wall on lap 201.

"It's just a shame," Elliott said. "We didn't have a terrible race car."

Crew member suspendedJimmy Watts, a crew member for the No. 47 Marcos Ambrose team, was suspended for the remainder of the race after he ran onto the infield grass — a prohibited area — to retrieve a loose tire on the third caution of the race.